title: Novel psychoactive drug use among younger adults involved in US nightlife scenes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The emergence of novel psychoactive substances has been reported in clinical studies and recent studies of users. The use of these substances in European nightlife scenes is well documented. Little research has been done to identify the prevalence of these drugs among young adults active in other regions. We focus our sample on socially active young adults to gain an indication of the prevalence and understanding of demographic factors associated with past year mephedrone ('meph', 'bath salts') and synthetic cannabinoid ('spice', 'K2') use.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study reports on the results of a field-based survey of 1740 patrons at nightlife venues in New York City.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Within the sample, 8.2% reported use of synthetic cannabinoids and 1.1% reported the use of mephedrone. Gay and bisexual men reported higher prevalence of mephedrone use. Latinos reported higher prevalence of synthetic cannabinoid use. Multivariate analyses indicate that sexual minority identity is associated with mephedrone use and younger age and Latino ethnicity are associated with synthetic cannabinoid use.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings suggest that the use of synthetic cannabinoids and mephedrone among adults in US nightlife scenes remains relatively low in comparison with European nightlife scenes, and is low relative to other drug use among young people within these scenes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA; Center for HIV Educational Studies & Training, City University of New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Brian C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: Brooke E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pawson
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leclair
authors.forename: Jeffrey T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Parsons
authors.forename: Sarit A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Golub
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001727:Bisexuality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002186:Cannabinoids / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D008297:Male; D008694:Methamphetamine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012919:Social Behavior; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002186:Cannabinoids; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs; C569461:cannabinoid K2; D008694:Methamphetamine; C548233:mephedrone
keywords: mephedrone; nightlife; synthetic cannabinoid; young adult